Make an offer to area school teachers

Kia ora Hon. Jan Tinetti

I am a teacher in an Area School/Wharekura. Area Schools are a diverse and important part of the compulsory education sector. Area Schools serve some of our remotest communities, many are centred around Te Reo Māori and kaupapa Māori education, while others provide educational approaches tuned to different community needs.
Like our colleagues in primary schools, area school teachers are currently negotiating our collective employment agreement. Like our primary colleagues our claims focus on how we can better support the tamariki we teach, and a pay increase that addresses the spiralling cost of living.
Area school teachers rejected the first offer to settle our Collective Agreement in November 2022. Unlike our colleagues in primary schools, we have not been presented with a new offer to settle our Collective Agreement.
Area school teachers do not provide second class education but we feel like we are being treated as second class teachers.
We urge you to do all in your power to ensure the Ministry of Education is progressing collective agreement negotiations for area school teachers.